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Jazz Articles | Future
Autumn 2017
Jazz Journal is a regular column consisting of pithy takes on recent jazz releases of note as well as spotlights on those titles in the genre that might otherwise go unnoticed under the cultural radar. Jim Yanda Trio Regional Cookin' Corner Store Jazz2017 There's an uncanny similarity between the guitar tone of Jim Yanda on his latest releases and that which the late Larry Coryell employed on his groundbreaking jazz rock ...
read moreThe Delmark Sound: Jason Stein Quartet and Corey Dennison Band
Delmark Records has been a jny: Chicago institution for better than 60 years, most under the watchful eye of founder Bob Koester. The label remains the oldest jazz and blues record label operating in the United States. Like its fabled successor, ECM, the label sports a sonic world all its own. While an odd comparison, any jazz enthusiast breathing air recognizes and understands the “ECM Sound." Demark has a similar distinctive sound. No, it is not that light and vaporous ...
read moreMonterey Jazz Festival 2017
Beautiful sunshine and perfect temperatures, were the backdrop for the 60th Monterey Jazz Festival. Coupled with good food and jazz lovers everywhere, the setting for an incredible weekend. But, this was only the icing. The “cake" was 500 musicians showing up for work, including some of the greatest jazz artists of all time. Headlining the hit list was Herbie Hancock. Add the ingredients of Dee Dee Bridgewater, Chick Corea, Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, Joe Lovano, John Beasley, and you have ...
read moreLena Bloch & Feathery: Heart Knows
Lena Bloch mocks the “sophomore jinx" myth with her second CD release, Heart Knows. The tenor saxophonist's debut, Feathery, drew a good deal of well-deserved praise. With her saxophone intertwined with a responsive guitar/bass/drums rhythm section, Bloch paid tribute--in part--to pianist Lennie Tristano, via her relationship with alto saxophonist Lee Konitz. On Heart Knows, Bloch moves along in the same loose groove, adding at times some flexible Middle-Eastern motifs, and stretching her own compositional skills to the highest limits, having ...
read moreMark Guiliana: Jersey
With an all-encompassing style that keeps him in high demand throughout the jazz world and beyond, perhaps it's unsurprising (if unfortunate) that Mark Guiliana boasts only a handful of titles to his own name. The middle of the 2010s saw him drumming in sessions with Dave Douglas or Avishai Cohen (among others) to briefly subbing with the equally inimitable Phronesis, leading up to 2017's live work and a festival appearance with the Donny McCaslin Group (the ensemble that was drafted ...
read moreJohn Daversa: Wobbly Danse Flower
As trumpeter John Daversa explains simply in the liners, Wobbly Dance Flower boils down to having fun. And glory be does he hit it squarely out of the park. Here's an upper deck moon shot so uplifting, so tightly nuanced and choreographed with shifts of meter, attitude, altitude, and an irresistible swing guaranteed to shake you from the apocalyptic feel that seems to have engulfed most of us. An explosive burst of sound and color, the eight snappy ...
read moreRobert Plant: Carry Fire
Some albums take a split second in order to showcase both their greatness and best qualities while others take more time and require more listening in order to reveal their treasures. While singer Robert Plant's album Carry Fire is tremendous on first listen and shows great depth and richness, it also reveals an even richer experience with other subsequent listens. As a lifelong voyager and curious explorer, his sophomore release on Nonesuch Records, Carry Fire continues his focus on creating ...
read moreWOMAD 2017
WOMAD Charlton Park Malmesbury, England July 27-30, 2017 The WOMAD global music festival has mostly been immune to bad weather during its 35 year history. World Of Music, Arts & Dance traditionally occupies the last weekend of July, which mostly guarantees a good scorching. There was the notorious WOMUD of 2007, its debut at the Charlton Park estate, close to Malmesbury in the West Country of England. Then, there was heavy downpouring ...
read moreChicago / London Underground: A Night Walking Through Mirrors
Rob Mazurek is a remarkable musician, with a rare breadth and depth of expression. Off-hand, the only artist I can think of who possesses a similar emotional profile is Wadada Leo Smith. Like Smith, Mazurek can sear your ears and nerves one minute and soothe your soul the next, without any sense of strain or contrivance in the transition. This capacity was displayed in an especially emotional way with his 2014 release Return the Tides: Ascension Suite and Holy Ghost ...
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